Toothbrush



G. B. AuFs'EssER TOOTHBRUSH Oct. 28, 1947.

Filed March 1'9, 1946 Patented Oct. 28,, 1947 UNITED STATES PATENTOFFICE TOOTHBRUSH Gates B. Aufsesser, Albany, N. Y. Application March19, 194E Serial No. 655,386

1 Claim. (01. 15-167) This invention relates to toothbrushes. It has forits general object the provision of a toothvbrush particularly designedfor the efficient and comfortable cleaning of the :back teeth.

It is commonly recognized that the average user of a toothbrush slightsthe back teeth because of his inability to'control the amplitude of theshort reciprocatory movements of the toothbrush which must be used toprevent the front end of the toothbrush from striking painfully againstthe soft cheek tissue which extends close to the ends of the gums.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide a toothbrush in whichthe bristle tufts at the forward end extend in advance of the front endof the brush back and are so constructed and arranged that some of thebristles serve :as a resilient support upon which the brush rides backand forth, while some perform the scrubbing action.

Another object of the invention is to provide a. toothbrush in which theextreme bristle tufts at both ends act as shock absorbers in dampeningthe movements of the brush near the limits of its reciprocatory range.

A further object of the invention is to provide a toothbrush, the backof which adjacent the head is formed with a concave recess adapted toengage the cheek at the corner of the mouth, to cause the cheek tosupport the brush and move in and out therewith as the brush isreciprocated against the back teeth, the elasticity of the cheek servingto control and to dampen the reciprocatory movements of the brush.

Other objects of the invention will appear as the following descriptionof preferred and practical embodiments thereof proceeds.

In the drawings;

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a toothbrush embodying the principles ofthe invention;

Figure 2 is a transverse section through the jaw, illustrating thetoothbrush in action;

Figure 3 is a section taken along the line 33 of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a plan view of the bristle face;

Figure 5 is a side elevation of another form of the invention, thehandle being broken away;

Figure 6 is a section taken along the line 6-6 of Figure 5;

Figure '7 is a plan view of the bristle face.

Referring now in detail to the several figures, and first adverting tothe brush shown in Figures 1 to 4, it consists of a handle I, back 2 andbristle head 3. The back 2 is straight longitudinally. The bristle headis composed of bristle tufts suitably secured to the back. The bristletufts are preferably arranged in transverse rows 4, as indicated inFigure 3. The tufts 5 of the middle transverse row are substantiallyperpendicular to The front and rearmost rows of tufts 6 and 1 flare,equally in opposite directions. The front row of tufts 6 extendsforwardly beyond the front end -8 of the back.

The ends of the bristle tufts terminate in a plane substantiallyparallel to the back 2. It follows that the bristles in the most flaringtufts, that is, those in the forward and rearward tufts 6 and l are ingeneral longer and therefore more resilient than the bristles in theintermediate tufts. The ends of the bristle tufts are not fiat, butconvex, so that in each tuft some bristles are longer than others.

In the mouth the inner corner of the check 9,

Figure 2, comes quite close to the back tooth Hi.

When an ordinary toothbrush is introduced into the space between theback teeth and cheek, it pushes the corner of the cheek away from theteeth, as shown in Figure 2. The brush must be inserted until theforward bristle tufts engage the last tooth. In the ordinary toothbrushthe bristles do not flare forwardly, so the front end of the brush backis just as far back in the mouth as the forward bristle tufts andpressing into the cheek tissue. Now the arm is not schooled to make veryshort reciprocatory movements such a. as are necessary to keep thebrush-back in the ordinary tooth brush from jabbing painfully into thecheektissue when the back teeth are being cleaned. Consequently, theuser of the ordinary toothbrush is inclined to slight the job.

In the subject brush the ends of the leading tufts are ahead of thefront end of the brushback, so that when they reach the surface to becleaned the back of the brush is not yet at the forward limit of itsreciprocatory stroke. Furthermore, the ends of the longer bristles inthe extreme forward and rearward tufts 6 and 1 do not move translativelyover the tooth surfaces which they contact, but remain fixed thereupon,the bristles themselves bending resiliently back and forth as the brushis reciprocated, thus resiliently supporting the brush and easing therigidity of its reciprocatory motion. Moreover, the longer bristles ofthe extreme tufts bend in against the next adjacent rows of tufts sothat their movement is yieldingly resisted by the said 2, 2 i2 I? 511.1. v

3 adjacent rows of tufts. This is a shock absorbing function whichdampens the reciprocatory thrust of the brush at the limits of itsreciprocatory movement.

The ends of the shorter bristles move across the surfaces of the teethand perform the detergent function.

The aggregate result of these several functions is to provide a,controlled reciprocatory movement of the brush which is easy for the armto execute in view of the resilient upport afforded by the longerbending bristles and the fact that the reciprocatory range can be longerbecause of the advance position of the forward bristle tufts, and whichwill not hurt the cheek in view of the dampening of the reciprocatorythrust re 1 sulting from the shock absorbing function which and theresilient support afforded by the longer ,mouth, to bring the tufts [5against the back teeth, the depression I2 is hooked over the corner ofthe mouth and the brush so supported that the cheek moves in and outwith the brush,

having a cushion function in effectively dampening the reciprocatorymovement of the brush.

The concavo-convex shape of the brush-back I follows the naturalcurvature of the dental arch,

the rows of bristle tufts adjacent the extreme 1 rows exercise on thebending of the bristles of the extreme tufts.

Referring to that form of the invention shown in Figures 5, 6 and 7, thebrush-back II is concavo-convex in a longitudinal direction, forming adepression or hook l2 on the outside and a crown 13 on the bristle side,from which the bristle tufts emanate. The middle row of bristle tufts I4is perpendicular to the back II at the apex of the crown l3 and the rowsof bristles forward and backward of this middle row flare progressivelyin opposite directions.

In this form of the invention the tufts 15 at the forward end arearranged in a dense bundle, a hexagonal arrangement being shown about acentral tuft.

The major portion of the bristle tufts terminate in the same flat plane,This refers to the tufts embraced within the bracket H3, in Figure 5.The tufts forwardof said bracket are trimmed off at an angle above saidplane. Due to the convex shape of the crown l3, the bristles in therearward tufts I! are much longerand therefore more resilient than thebristles in the middle tufts I4. This gives a Wide gradation in thecleaning characteristics of the brush. The bristles in tufts M are bestfitted to perform a scrubbing action against the general surface of theteeth. The bristles in tufts I! being more resilient, are especiallyefficient in whiskin out foreign fragments that may have lodged betweenthe teeth. BY tilting the brush about the axis of its curvature, anypart Of the bristle face may be selectively brought into most prominentworking position against the teeth.

The densely massed tufts [5 at the front are especially designed forcleaning the rearmost teeth. When the brush is tilted so that thesetufts are in engagement with the tooth surface, the tufts I! are out ofengagement with the teeth. Therefore, the shock absorbing function inworking on the inside of the teeth.

While I have in the above description disclosed What I believe to bepractical embodiments of the invention, it will be understood by thoseskilled in the art that the specific details of construction andarrangement of parts, as shown, are by .way of illustration and not tobe construed as limiting the scope of the invention.

What I claim as my invention is:

A toothbrush comprising a substantially rigid back of concavo-convexshape with the concave depression in its outer face and a bristle heademanating from the convex face, said bristle head including alongitudinal series of transverse rows of bristle tufts, said rowsflaring progressively in opposite directions with respect to anintermediate row in said series, the free ends of the bristle tufts insaid series terminating in a common plane, and a group of bristle tuftsforwardly of said series of transverse rows comprising a plurality oftufts arranged symmetrically about a central tuft, the foremost tufts ofsaid group extending beyond the forward end of said brush back.

GATES B. AUFSESSER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS

